Protagonists of this article: Zhang Qingmeng, Han Jin
In the winter of 475 AD, Zhang Qingmeng arrived in Xiaobeicheng.
"Six years..." Qing Meng was wearing a grassland cotton coat, and everyone looked at him strangely wherever he passed, but he didn't care.
Mu Mingrui was extremely excited: "I finally returned to my homeland. My Coiling Dragon Golden Spear is still in Xiaobei Palace. I have to get it back first!" After that, he rode his horse and ran towards Xiaobei Palace.
Henry flipped through the book in disappointment: "Didn't you say that the mud is everywhere?" (Didn't you say that there is gold everywhere?)
Qingmeng laughed loudly: "I said Henry, he has been deceived so miserably and still has no memory!" Everyone was amused and laughed.
In an instant. He smelled the aroma of Xiaobei bean buns, and his unsatisfactory saliva fell from the corner of his mouth: "Why don't we stay one night and rush to Wanyang City tomorrow? In the snowy day, eating sticky hot bean buns is worse than that Taiwei The emperor needs to be comfortable!" Everyone nodded and went to the hotel to rest.
On the other side, inside the Wanyang City Palace.
The civil servants were in the east, and the generals were in the west. When they went to court, they all paid homage to the empty dragon chair. The old Confucian sat on a small stool next to the dragon chair, flicked his fly whisk and said, "Pingshen!"
"Thank you, Lord!" All the old ministers were accustomed to paying homage in this way, while some ministers who had just taken office regarded the old Confucian as their Lord.
"I'm going to supervise the country. According to the report from Xiaobei Governor, a group of prairie troops entered the city, and a man who claimed to be General Mu wanted to take away the Panlong Golden Spear. From what I saw, it must be Duke Zheng who has arrived in the city. !" A civil servant reported forward.
(Zheng Gong: Zhang Qingmeng’s title, see Chapter 26 for details)
The old scholar looked at the crowd and said, "Everyone, please remember that Duke Zheng is our lord, and I am just a supervisor."
Ni Hao stood up and said: "When Mengzi comes back, General Mo will go and take her back to the capital!"
The old scholar nodded and ordered Ni Hao to set off immediately. Then he looked at the row of generals: "General Lou!"
"The general is here!" Lou Ning stood up and responded.
"I order you to buy a cauldron of boiling oil and place it here at noon tomorrow. Remember to ask for the kind that will boil to pieces as soon as people enter."
When the ministers heard this, they shuddered and discussed back and forth tremblingly. Lou Ning was a little confused: "The supervisor ordered me to do this, what's the use of it?"
The old scholar stroked his long silver-white beard and said with a smile: "I want to see how Mr. Zheng has been practicing in the past six years."
The ministers were still puzzled, but they all dispersed as the sound of the eunuch's retreat sounded.
Inside the Xiaobeicheng hotel
"Dad, where are we going?" Xiao Junsheng grew up in the grasslands and was unfamiliar with everything in the Central Plains.
Qingmeng pinched his little nose: "Of course we are going home!"
Xiao Junsheng sneezed and waddled away like a penguin, making Qingmeng laugh: "Jiang'er is so cute like her mother."
Xiao Junsheng lowered his head, pouted and asked, "What is mother?"
Qing Meng's lips froze. He didn't know how to answer. He wanted to change the topic, but Xiao Junsheng kept pursuing him and insisted on asking the reason.
The door was pushed open, and it was Yao Qiu who came in with a plate of sticky bean buns. Qingmeng looked at her carefully: she had long ink-like hair reaching her waist, amber eyes under her bangs, snow-white skin, a clear face, and a demeanor. Elegant, as if she was born to make others feel ashamed.
Xiao Junsheng hugged Yao Qiu's leg: "What do you mean, mom?"
Yao Qiu's eyes turned into slits as she smiled. She placed the bean bag on the table and picked it up tenderly: "Of course she is the woman who gave birth to you and grew up with you."
"Mom!" Xiao Junsheng threw himself into her arms, humming delicately.
This made Yao Qiu blush with embarrassment and babbled: "No, no... you are my mother... ah no! I am not your mother!"
"Aren't you the woman who grew up with me?" Xiao Junsheng asked back, making her speechless. Seeing this, Qingmeng pulled the child and lectured him dissatisfiedly: "You are already six years old, why don't you know some etiquette?"
Xiao Junsheng argued: "I don't care! He is my mother!"
When Qing Meng saw this, she threw Xiao Junsheng on the bed angrily, then took off his pants and spanked him, "Pah!" Qing Meng was merciless and slapped her hard, making Xiao Junsheng cry in pain. Get up and admit your mistakes again and again.
"What can a child know?" Yao Qiu quickly stepped forward to stop him and took Xiao Junsheng into his arms, although she knew that she was not the child's mother.
Qing Meng was so angry that she pointed at Xiao Junsheng: "You only have one mother, and there will always be only one. Her name is Ji Dongli! Do you remember it?"
Xiao Junsheng cried and replied: "Remember...remember..."
This actually aroused Yao Qiu's dissatisfaction: "Do you also want your son to run away from home and end up treating his father as an enemy like you?"
"This is not the same thing! If you can't bear even this little pain, how can you take over my class in the future?"
Yao Qiu had no choice but to leave the room with the child in his arms. Xiao Junsheng preferred this woman to his father. During the six years in the grassland, Qingmeng was always away fighting, and it was Zhang's father and Yao Qiu who took care of him.
Qing Meng, looking at Yao Qiu's back, could vaguely see a few traces of Ji Dongli. It would be great if that woman was her.
After a month's journey, Qingmeng and others finally arrived at the outskirts of Wanyang City. After General Nihao found out, he quickly led his troops out of the city to greet them, and soon the two of them gathered at the city gate.
"Mengzi!" Nihao burst into tears with excitement. He rolled and fell off his horse, then quickly got up and rushed to Qingmeng, giving him a big hug.
Qing Meng was stunned for a moment, then realized: "You... are you Ni Hao?"
"It's me, Mengzi! I haven't seen you for six years!" Nihao patted his shoulder and replied excitedly.
Qing Meng also hugged Ni Hao like crazy, grinning from ear to ear: "You have really changed too much!"
Yes, six years later, Ni Hao is no longer the impulsive young man. Now he has thick, dark skin and a beard, and he looks like a bold and aggressive man.
The two chatted happily. Qing Meng introduced the group of people following him to Ni Hao one by one. Mu Mingrui covered his face: "I... I don't need to introduce you, right?"
"Ouch!" Ni Hao laughed when he saw this: "I almost didn't recognize you. This is not the handsome boy he used to be!"
Mu Mingrui now has a sparse beard and loose hair flowing behind his head - a habit developed in the grassland. There is less youthful impulsiveness and more stability in his eyes. The tall nose and thick lips are almost impeccable, but the Coiling Dragon Golden Gun in his hand still shines brightly.
On the way to the palace, Ni Hao talked endlessly about the changes in the country in the past six years and how Gao Chou alleviated conflicts with other countries and implemented reforms. Qingmeng smiled slightly: "It seems that you were not idle even when I was away."
Xiao Junsheng leaned out of the carriage window and said in a coquettish voice: "Hey, why don't there be vast grasslands in this place?"
Ni Hao suddenly heard the child's voice and asked Qing Meng, "Who is this child?"
"Oh, by the way, Jiang'er, come down and salute Uncle Ni!" Qing Meng shouted towards Xiao Junsheng.
Xiao Junsheng threw himself into Yao Qiu's arms in fear and said coquettishly: "No, that uncle looks very bad and said..." Yao Qiu touched his head helplessly and smiled awkwardly at Qing Meng.
Qingmeng was furious, but he swallowed it hard, shook his head and said to Nihao: "This son is Gu and Dongli's child. Dongli died in childbirth because of him. He grew up in the grassland since he was a child. I don't know. Morality and etiquette, please don’t take offense, General.”
Ni Hao laughed loudly: "This child is cute, I like it very much!"
"Speaking of children, how is Wang Yihang doing when I brought him back?"
"He was trained day and night by the old Confucian military advisor. He studied the Four Books and Five Classics hard, wrote poems and rhymes, and became a well-known child prodigy in Wanyang City. At the same time, I served as his martial arts master. This child made rapid progress, even though he was only seven years old. It's not very mature yet, but it won't be a problem to kill one or two wild dogs, after all, it's too young."
Qingmeng bit her lip, and when she thought of her son who was still acting coquettishly, she shouted angrily: "I studied the Four Books and Five Classics at the age of seven, and my martial arts are all better than yours, but you are the only loser who is still in the arms of a woman." Acting like a spoiled child, you are still not my seed!"
Xiao Junsheng's cries were heard in the car, and Qing Meng reached out to hit him. Ni Hao quickly stopped him: "The prince was born on the grassland and doesn't understand that these are common sense. Even if he makes progress from now on, it will be the same." Yes, why do you want to vent your anger on the child?"
Qingmeng gritted her teeth and cursed bitterly: "Coward!"
About half an hour later, the group entered the front door of the palace, and after a while they arrived at the meeting hall. Qing Meng touched the two stone lions on the roadside and remembered that it was here that he led his troops on an expedition six years ago.
Two eunuchs stood at the palace door. When they saw Qing Meng, they quickly knelt down and said, "The eunuch has an order that no one except Duke Zheng and General Ni Hao is allowed to enter."
Qing Meng signaled everyone to stop, and slowly walked up the stairs with Ni Hao, and followed the eunuch into the meeting hall. Just when Qing Meng was about to step into the hall, the guard on the side suddenly pulled out his sword and stopped several people. people.
The two eunuchs left in a hurry. Qingmeng raised his eyes and looked at the two guards: "How many years have you been here?"
"I just took office two years ago!"
Ni Hao yelled angrily: "How dare you use a sword to block our lord, a blind bitch? Are you trying to save your life?" The two guards were so frightened that they quickly hid aside. Qing Meng smiled and stepped into the palace.
When the two people walked in, this scene appeared in front of them: there was a huge cauldron in front of them, with a fire burning underneath, and the oil in the cauldron was boiling and boiling, which could boil people to death anytime and anywhere.
The old scholar sat calmly on the dragon chair, holding a fly whisk in his hand, staring at Qing Meng with sharp eyes, making everyone present shudder.
Ni Hao was so frightened that he didn't dare to move: "What...what is this..."
"You two should have seen the oil cauldron in front of you, right? If you don't want to be its bait, leave the meeting hall immediately. If you dare to take a step forward, you two will be turned into scraps of meat!" the old Confucian said with a proud smile.
Qingmeng looked around. Most of them were brothers who had fought with him back then, and some were strangers. They all lowered their heads helplessly, except Gao Chou, who was drinking tea calmly.
"Mengzi, what are you going to do?" Ni Hao was almost frightened, but Qingmeng walked towards the oil cauldron without any fear, with an unstoppable momentum in his every move.
All the ministers looked at the man in front of them together: his eyes were firm and clear but dark and deep, his facial features were neatly contoured, and sword-like eyebrows rested on his handsome face. He had lost the arrogance and unruliness of his youth, and the thick mustache on his upper lip showed his His mature temperament makes him a handsome man. The tall but not rough figure exudes a majestic power that dominates the world.
"How dare you take another step forward! Even if you put yourself in the frying pan, it doesn't matter?" Old Confucian yelled.
Qing Meng was not afraid. He bypassed the oil cauldron, stood in front of the old Confucian and said with a smile: "Now, I can't run away, you can ask the soldiers to throw me in."
"Aren't you afraid of death?" Old Confucian asked tentatively.
"I'm afraid of death. I'm afraid that all the soldiers in the world will die in the war. I'm afraid that the people will starve to death on the roadside. I'm afraid that this nation and this country will lose hope of rejuvenation. That's why I say, I'm afraid of death."
"Aren't you afraid that I will really throw you in?"
Qingmeng raised his eyebrows and responded calmly: "I believe you."
The old scholar was greatly shaken. He quickly stood up and knelt down at Qing Meng's feet: "I beg your lord to forgive me. I definitely dare not have second thoughts. I am just testing my lord by doing this."
Qing Meng helped him up and then sat on the dragon chair: "The military advisor dares to do things that ordinary people dare not do. I really admire him, but what do you see?"
The old scholar threw up his fly whisk and shouted at the ministers: "I hope you all remember that Zheng Gong and Zhang Qingmeng are our lords. We must not mess with the rules!" The ministers saluted together, but Qing Meng was a little at a loss.
Ni Hao smiled sheepishly and said, "I was scared to death. I thought the military advisor had rebelled..." When everyone heard this, they burst into laughter. Only Gao Chou was still drinking tea calmly.
Afterwards, Gao Chou approached the old Confucian and said, "Military advisor, what did you see at that time?"
The old Confucian replied: "He is completely unafraid in the face of danger and dares to trust others. I can see from his words and deeds that he exudes a kingly aura that no one else has. He is like a giant dragon. Once he wakes up, he will It will shake the Central Plains."
Gao Chou smiled and said, "Did the military advisor praise you too much?"
The old scholar didn't answer him, just smiled.
But what everyone doesn't know is that a new crisis is slowly approaching them.
Zhang Qingmeng has returned to China! The news spread all over the world. The return of this hero meant that the warlords who separated themselves from each other would no longer have a peaceful life. Taiwei Emperor Taili will also continue to be controlled by others.
When Han Jin, known as the "Jiangnan Python", received the news for the first time, he was so shocked that he broke his tea cup and crossed the palace: "Zhang Qingmeng is a powerful man in the world. If he returns to his country, no one in the world will be his opponent." .”
The ministers were extremely anxious, and they were discussing countermeasures one by one. At this moment, Wang Liwei suddenly stood up and said: "I tell my lord, there will be a plan in the end that can wipe out Zhang Qingmeng!"
Han Jin turned around and asked: "General Wang, there are no jokes in the court. If you have any ideas, please tell me."
Wang Liwei then explained: "Today, all the warlords fear are Zhang Qingmeng, and Emperor Taiwei is under his control day and night, so he must harbor resentment. My lord can send a letter to Emperor Taiwei, asking him to secretly send a secret decree to everyone in the world. Warlord Lu, state Zhang Qingmeng’s interests and dangers, form an alliance, and fight with the people of the world.”
"Then how should the name of the alliance be drawn up?" Han Jin became interested and asked.
Wang Liwei then replied: "You can first ask the emperor to make the leaders of the allied armies kings or dukes so that they are equal. Zhang Qingmeng was granted the title of 'Zheng Gong' in Zhengdi. From this, the name of our alliance became: 'Anti-Zheng Alliance'" ', and attack Haibo Kingdom from both sides by land and water, then the matter can be settled!"
Han Jin was extremely happy and praised the cleverness of this strategy. At this time, an old minister suddenly raised objections: "Lord, I think this matter can be discussed..."
"Pull it out and chop it!" Han Jin said in an extremely cold voice. Before the veteran could react, he was pulled out by several soldiers. He shouted anxiously: "My lord is not guilty!"
Han Jin sneered and said: "Listen, ministers, anyone who opposes this proposal will be guilty of the same crime!"
Everyone present was trembling, and they were all shocked by Han Jin's vicious style of doing things. They could only pray silently that they would not be implicated.
And now, Zhang Qingmeng's life and death test has just begun...
